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LunchDates still setting up singles after 25 years
Twenty years ago, Ron and Marci Handverger went on their first date arranged by LunchDates.
"We met for drinks on June 11, 1987, at 6:30 p.m. at the Marriott in Newton,'' recalls Ron Handverger. "And we just clicked.''
They met again the next day, this time for lunch. More dates followed and soon the two were an item. On Sept. 18, 1988, the two became a married couple. The Handvergers now have two children and live in Framingham.
Ron says he was going through a divorce at the time he joined LunchDates. "I was working full time and I didn't like bars,'' he says. "I found (LunchDates) a neat way to meet people. It gave me a social life.
"I also liked the idea of an informal meeting. You only knew first names. No phone numbers. You didn't get harassed.''
Asked why he clicked with Marci, Ron says, "She was cute, attractive and had a fun personality.'' And what clicked with her? "She was probably just settling for me,'' he quips.
The date with Marci was Ron's 25th arranged by LunchDates, give or take a few. "I got my money's worth,'' he says with a laugh. "The other dates just didn't click. Part of it was me. I was going through a divorce and I think I was a little early in starting.''
Marci's LunchDates meeting with Ron was her third or fourth, he says. She was single at the time. "She was working as a saleswoman, selling clothing on the road, and it's hard to meet somebody,'' says Ron.
Making that task easier has been the mission of LunchDates since Martin Sack and Steve Penner founded the company 25 years ago. During that time period, more than 40,000 people have become members.
While LunchDates doesn't keep statistics on its success rate - not everyone who succeeds or fails contacts the company - it does have plenty of examples of couples who have married thanks to its matchmaking prowess.
"I (recently) got a call from a woman who said, 'This Saturday night we're going to dinner at a restaurant where we had our first date. It was 15 years ago. We're re-creating the evening. We were married 12 years ago,' '' says Sack. "Some people don't tell us. Some don't tell us until 12 years later. The way we hear about most of the relationships is through friends of couples. They tell them about it and the friends come in and join.
"We can advertise all over the place, but word of mouth is the best form of advertising and that's how we get the majority of our members.'' More than 70 percent of new members get referred by clients, Sack elaborates.
The service became so popular that shortly after its start in Brighton, LunchDates opened offices in Framingham, Burlington, Weymouth and downtown Boston. Earlier this month, the Framingham office moved from its longtime location on Cochituate Road to 873 Concord St. (Rte. 126 near the Rte. 30 intersection).
Before launching LunchDates, Sack and Penner worked at a federal anti-poverty program in Boston. "We had always talked about starting a business together,'' recalls Sack. "Early in 1982, Steve had just got divorced and I had just got married. He was telling me about his adventures with dating. He talked with some dating services, which at that time were charging $3,000 to $5,000 and a lot of them were franchises with dubious reputations.''
Then came that light-bulb moment. "Steve was driving through Arizona and he called me in the middle of the desert and said, 'I just saw a sign that said The Lunch Club. Maybe we can do something around a lunch date.' And that set us off.''
The first week, the new business operated out of Penner's living room in Brighton. "But right away it took off,'' says Sack. "People were telling other people about it and after two weeks we had a little, one-room office in Brighton. Then we expanded over the next year.'' Penner retired from the company three years ago.
Potential customers can either call LunchDates or go to its Web site and fill out a survey.
A 40-minute appointment is then set up at one of the LunchDates' offices. "We go through everything you're looking for - all the details about yourself - to make sure we can find some good people for you,'' says Sack. "When you join, you have a counselor. Our counselors have been with the company between six and 15 years. The counselor will do all the screening and call the other person. The counselor tells them everything about the person seeking a date, everything except last name and number.
"For women, it's very safe and confidential. For men, it's very efficient,'' says Sack. "They have a woman to bounce their ideas off. For a man who's divorced, especially a man in his 40s and 50s, if he hasn't dated a lot, it's a tremendous help. I get that feedback all the time.''
Sack notes that all of the counselors at LunchDates are women. "We've had men counselors, but now it's all female,'' he says. "Men like to talk with women and women like to talk with them, too.''
Even though the company is called LunchDates, 75 percent of the dates don't take place during lunch. "About three days after we started the company we realized most of the members do not have time for lunch. They like to meet in the early evening for a cup of coffee or a drink, lunch maybe on the weekend,'' says Sack. "We didn't change the name because the idea of LunchDates is just a short, no-pressure meeting to see if you're interested in each other.''
The price for membership ranges from $600 to $1,400. The higher the cost, the more dates arranged. Clients who start relationships can freeze membership for up to two years.
When potential customers call LunchDates, the company will provide feedback on whether it has suitable dates.
One of the challenges facing LunchDates at the outset was overcoming the stigma surrounding dating services. "Back in 1982, the only people who used these $3,000 dating services were the lonely hearts people who couldn't get a date, people who were considered losers. That was the idea behind it,'' says Sack.
"But LunchDates was different. We were low key, no pressure. Our concept was having single, busy professional people meet over lunch or after work for a cup of coffee. You're not committed to a whole evening if you're not really interested in each other. ... We were a new choice and we weren't as expensive. It opened up the whole idea of dating.''
Dating services following "the old concept'' simply sent the customer a name and a phone number in the mail, says Sack. There were no counselors to provide assistance. These services still exist, he adds.
Their numbers are dwindling, Sack says, as the Internet has become a popular dating resource.
"The Internet is inexpensive and it works pretty well, but there are more risks,'' says Sack. "Everyone has to show us their driver's license with their birthdate on it. We have all the basic information about people, and they're accountable. On the Internet, anybody can say whatever they want.
"Also, if you get a date through the Internet, it's independent of the next date. At LunchDates, after you go out, you call back your counselor and give and receive feedback. With all that feedback, your next date is far likely to be better for you if the last one didn't work out. The dates tend to get better as we get good feedback. We work with our members on that process. On the Internet, it's a one-shot deal. If there's no connection, that's it.
"Sometime it takes awhile. The longer you're in there, the larger the pool. There are different variations on why a date doesn't work, but we will guarantee the quality of the date. If someone thought a date was a real mismatch, we won't count it. It's based on the honor system and it's in the member's best interest to be honest.''
Though LunchDates has, by and large, overcome the dating service stigma, it still exists, according to Sack.
"The stereotype is that people should be able to do this on their own and not to have to ask for help,'' he says, "but we love helping people.''
The people who fare best at LunchDates are those "with a positive attitude,'' says Sack. "They don't get hung up if a first date doesn't work. They're also not heavy smokers and they're flexible with age range. They have stable jobs, They're pretty active and they're ready for a relationship.''
Members range in age from mid-20s to mid-60s with 38 the average age. "There are more women in their 40s and 50s than there are men - it's always been that way - so this is a wonderful service for men in their 40s and 50s,'' says Sack. "In the 20s and 30s, we have a really good balance of men and women. At first, our concept was more acceptable to young people. Now all ages accept it.''
Membership now totals around 1,700, says Sack.
Interestingly, a few members have married through LunchDates, divorced and rejoined.
Sack, who lived in Framingham for 25 years before recently moving to Boston, attributes LunchDates' longevity to hard work, good intentions and sincerity.
"Someone said we're a combination of an old-fashioned matchmaker and a contemporary social secretary,'' says Sack. He doesn't dispute the statement.
(Bob Tremblay of the MetroWest Daily News can be reached at email@example.com or 508-626-4409.)


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For a long time, the cure for diabetes type 1 and type 2 has relied on agonizing insulin shots for patients or insulin infusion via mechanical pumps. Regarding this, experts have been creating artificial pancreatic beta cells with the he…
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The large, bearded man bounded to the front of the room last Friday, hand thrust into the air, fingers shaking. It was a question-and-answer session, but he clearly wouldn't be able to wait long. He began speaking just before a conference organizer moved to hand him the microphone.
"So many stupid insults—and mistakes!" shouted Richard Stallman, the father of the free software movement. "I proposed a way to solve the problem! It's elegant, and it gets right to the point. Your criticisms are completely wrong."
The speaker he was denouncing, Professor John Duffy of the University of Virginia, had been defending software patents to the assembled crowd a moment ago. Duffy was actually proposing reforms, but as was the case with most speakers at this legal conference, Duffy's reforms weren't quite what Stallman was looking for. He was looking for a "safe harbor" for software—essentially, a total ban on any patents that touched on software.
Duffy raised the specter that some things might not be invented at all without patents, in software and other fields. "The only thing worse than a patented technology that burdens the public is not having a technology at all," he said. Sure, some software patents were a pain, but others were protecting important work. "The question is, will you get very serious research that is patent-motivated? Speech recognition, for example, is very patent-intensive."
In Stallman's view, the idea that society might be able to eliminate "bad patents" while keeping good ones is a kind of Jedi mind trick. Offering patents as a reward for software development—a system where the prize is a right to shut down someone else—is fatally flawed.
"Consider the MP3 patent," said Stallman. "That caused a lot of harm. It's not trivial, it came from a research institute. But we can fund research institutes in other ways."
The deprivation of some unnamed technology doesn't excuse a system that allows some developers to be subject to legal attacks, Stallman continued. We could live without those things. "Yes, we can be better off without certain things," said Stallman, finishing up his lecture to a flustered Duffy. "Maybe it wouldn't be quite as good, but we would all be okay. None of us would be shafted."
An eccentric with an unwavering plan
Stallman's long hair, shaggy beard, and potbelly make him look like a kind of tech-age guru, a software Buddha. He comes across as eccentric, especially in the context of a legal conference."These patents put all software developers in danger, and users as well—a danger there's no reason we should stand for."
He is also, those closest to him acknowledge, a genius. He would seem a bit like your crazy uncle—if his accomplishments weren't so well-known. Those include creating key components of the free software system that he calls GNU/Linux (and many others call simply Linux) as well as creating the most widely used software license in the world, the GNU General Public License.
The audience at the Santa Clara University conference Stallman spoke at, "Solutions to the Software Patent Problem," wasn't exactly a buttoned-down crowd, but Stallman managed to stand out. He wore a loose brown shirt with a flowery print and black sneakers with velcro straps. As always, he carried no cell phone. Pinned to his chest was a large white button: "Pay Cash—Don't Be Tracked."
Instead of business cards, Stallman has "pleasure cards." In addition to his name and contact information, they say: "Sharing good books, good food and exotic music and dance - tender embraces - unusual sense of humor."
His was the first talk on the agenda—and the only one of the day to not be streamed. "Streaming online would require use of [the] Microsoft Silverlight plug-in, which would pressure people to use proprietary software," explained Andrew Chin, the law professor who introduced Stallman. "Dr. Stallman considers it wrong to pressure people to do that." (The crowd was told a recording would be made available later in OGG or WebM format.)
The fundamental problem is this: every software patent, Stallman explained, is a monopoly on a "computational idea." In fact, that's how he has started describing software patents—as "computational idea" patents. Patents "protect" a lot more than one specific program, even though most people don't realize that. "These patents put all software developers in danger, and users as well—a danger there's no reason we should stand for," Stallman argued.
Patenting the math in software, at its core, wasn't that different from patenting music, which must build on itself by necessity.
"Beethoven had lots of great ideas, and knew how to use them effectively," Stallman continued. "He combined his new ideas with lots of familiar ideas, so that they were not so alien and incomprehensible that they were rejected. They shocked people for a while, but then people got used to them.
"The idea that anyone could, or would have to, reinvent music from zero is absurd," he said. "It's the same with computing."
The reasonable way forward, in Stallman's view, would be to legislate a "safe harbor" for software. The definition of what might be a "software patent" was debated throughout the day, but to Stallman it was clear enough: software programs are ones that can run on a "general purpose machine." That would separate software from cases like Diamond v. Diehr, where a patent was granted over a special-purpose machine (the patent was on a method of curing rubber.) It would include software for devices that mix general purpose computers with some specialized hardware (like a smartphone, which would use specialized circuits to connect to a phone network.)
Stallman doesn't take a position on whether non-software patents should be abolished, although he's certainly tuned in to arguments that they should be. A broader ban is an almost entirely academic question, though. At the end of the day, Stallman rejects the idea that software can't be carved out of the patent system, entirely.
"The idea of really solving a problem strikes people as radical," said Stallman. "People think, we've got to look for partial solutions... well that's a mistake. It wouldn't do the whole job, and it would be harder to get it passed. There are lots of software developers, they're all threatened, and if we propose to protect them all, they will all have a reason to support it. Let's propose a real solution."
"A classic, deadweight social loss"
Stallman shared the stage with a surprising fellow speaker: Google general counsel Kent Walker. Walker heads up the legal department of the company most prominently under patent attacks from both competitors and so-called "trolls."
"The patent arena is not a pretty place to be right now," said Walker. "The troll problem is big, and getting bigger," a growing tax on innovation. "Some of these are bottom-of-the-barrel patents," he continued. "They cover common practices on the Internet, like showing an ad before a piece of content." (That was likely a description of the patent granted to Ultramercial.)
"Today the torrent of software patent litigation has become a waste for society," he continued. "It's a classic deadweight social loss." Those costs include legal costs as well as building defensive patent portfolios.
Walker discusses patent abuses by both trolls and big companies as part of the same problem. "Operating companies are increasingly selling off patents to trolls," he noted. "Either pressure to monetize or as a way to harm competitors."
Google seems more vociferously anti-troll than ever. But Walker is more focused on reforms like tightened-up patent claiming, or proposals like the SHIELD Act that could make it easier to recover attorneys' fees. The politics of the issue constrain him from making a blanket anti-software-patent statement like Stallman's.
The America Invents Act, a patent bill which ultimately contained little of the reform the tech sector was looking for, took around seven years of lobbying and negotiation to get passed, Walker noted. "It is politically challenging to start drawing hard lines between different sectors," said Walker. In Congress, politicians "have constituencies that resist the notion of trying to move away from a unitary patent system, into what they call silos."
An appeal for abolition, 20 years in
After his morning talk, Stallman drifted to the back of the room, focusing studiously on his small white laptop sporting a sticker of the GNU logo (which is, well, a gnu.) Apart from the afternoon outburst, he mostly worked silently, furrowing his brow, seeming oblivious to anything around him and the other speakers on stage.
I first started to understand the appeal of Stallman when I heard him speak at a 2007 event at San Francisco State University, especially his appeal to young people. He speaks in a language often missing from discussions of seemingly abstract concepts like patent laws. Lawyers speak about what is legal and what should be legal; Stallman begins with philosophy, with ethics, with how you should treat your neighbor.
Can you give a piece of software to someone? Why would the answer ever be no?
Can a person program a new solution to a problem? Why should anyone be able to stop such a thing?
That last thing, inescapably, is what software patents forbid—each and every one of them. Stallman refuses to let anyone forget that. The system has not changed, and his opposition to it is still full-throated and clear.
Stallman has always been focused on diction, sometimes to a seemingly absurd extent. Before giving an interview, he makes sure his two conditions are assented to: first, that he can't be called the father of "open source," a term he objects to; and most important, that the term "Linux" not be used as a standalone. Instead, any journalist wishing to speak to Stallman must agree to refer to GNU or GNU/Linux. "Otherwise you're denying us credit," and not placing readers' focus on the software freedoms that Stallman wants to emphasize.
He also can't stand the use of the term "intellectual property" in any context. The term is always confusing, he holds, roping together disparate areas of law.
While Stallman's ideas may be clear, they're far from the current political reality. Software patents started being widely awarded in the late '90s, and they now seem more entrenched than ever; while Google abhors them, its arch-rival Microsoft is increasingly enthusiastic about them.
Many proposals were floated on Friday that would limit the impact of software patents in some way, but Stallman's view was ultimately left as a kind of goal-post; few speakers agreed with his all-out drive to eliminate software patents. Some of the conference speakers are writing about their proposed solutions in a special Wired.com series, The Patent Fix.
After agreeing to his conditions, I spoke briefly to Stallman after his talk. I asked if there is anything about his proposal that is new?
Not really, he said. He's been saying the same thing for 20 years. Way back in 1992, Stallman wrote an op-ed for Computerworld magazine attacking US Patent No. 5,049,881, saying patents like that would turn software "into a quagmire."
Since then, his views haven't changed much. It's the reception that has changed, he said; more companies, like Rackspace, are coming out against patenting software. Apple, the "number one patent aggressor" in Stallman's view, is winning eye-popping verdicts against competitors—and losing big to patent trolls.
"I see more support for getting patents out of software," he said.


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I never told Scott the wind story. I crawled back into the tent, shivering, and was so bundled up in my down parka that he couldn't see the fear that...
Written by Chris Ferro
I never told Scott the wind story. I crawled back into the tent, shivering, and was so bundled up in my down parka that he couldn't see the fear that must have been shooting out of my eyeballs.Back in my sleeping bag I mumbled something about how the snow-block walls that surrounded our tent were fine. I must have deflected his wonder at how long I'd been gone – if he had any. He had other things to worry about, like how much food or stove fuel we had left, or how long before the 110-mph winds would shred the tent.
Besides, time played tricks up here at 17,200 feet on Denali's West Buttress. There wasn't much to do except sleep, eat, maintain the walls, and hope for the storm to end. Three days of that made every minute and every second crawl by, and if I told him I had only been gone for a couple of minutes, how could he dispute it? Then again, maybe it was only a couple of minutes – even I wasn't sure. It seemed like forever since I'd grabbed the shovel and crawled outside into the swirling whiteout.
The walls were our only protection, and we took turns every hour or two making sure they were still strong. We had tried to escape down to 14,300 feet in what seemed like a lull, but the retreat down the sharpest part of the ridge nearly ended us. We would find out later that a guide named Chris Hooyman died earlier that day trying the same thing – he was blown off the ridge, and recovered a week later 2,000 feet below. He was 21 years old.
We turned back at about the same point where he had fallen, and climbed back up hoping to retreat into the safety of the old walls we'd built. Unable to find them, we spent hours in the biting wind building a new fortress, working the walls like our lives depended on them.
When it was my turn, I hated the idea of going out there, but at the same time was terrified that the walls were about to crumble. They'd done that once before, and we woke up under a pile of blocks, convinced that the paper-thin nylon layers that kept us alive were about to give way. Sure, a few other people were camped within a few hundred yards, but would we even be able to find them? And if we did, would they be able to help?
These were my thoughts as I burrowed out for wall duty: save the walls, save the tent, save ourselves. At that moment, the protection that the walls provided was violently punctuated, because as soon as I stepped outside the six-foot-high circle, a gust picked me up and tossed me like a day-old newspaper.
I don't know how far I went, but when I landed and skidded to a stop I was alone in the middle of a sea of whiteness. The plateau was big and flat enough that I wasn't worried about falling off the mountain, but that was hardly any solace. What came to mind was Jack London's story "To Build a Fire," where the man's enemy was only the brutal, penetrating cold.
This was supposed to be easy. We hadn't even come to climb the West Buttress. We were young and cocky, and we wanted to avoid crowds. Instead we had come to connect the obscure West Rim with the even more obscure Hickox Variation. We did the lower West Buttress intending just to acclimatize, but the hard work of reaching 14,300 drained us. The thought of going back down to start over was painful. We decided to continue up the easy way, with the multitudes. At least, we thought, it practically guaranteed a summit.
The storm arrived a day early. The good weather that had been predicted, a day in which we hoped to run up to the top and back, never came. The winds picked up the night we got to 17,200 and kept gaining speed.
Alone, I squinted through my goggles, trying to separate white land from white sky. The storm was at its peak intensity.
It's funny that screaming never even entered my head. The standard, almost primordial urge to call out for help was so pointless amid the jet-engine roar that, even at a subconscious level, I never thought of it as an option. There would be no rescue.
I had to crawl, but in what direction? The tent's bright yellow fabric was hiding behind the walls we'd so laboriously built over it.
This was silly. This was no way to die. Like Leslie Nielsen's character in The Naked Gun said, if you are going to get killed, you want it to be in some exciting way: "Your parachute not opening. Getting caught in the gears of a combine. Getting your nuts bitten off by a Laplander. That's how I wanna go!" Something spectacular. They make movies about people who die in a blaze of glory, but nobody would watch a movie about a guy crawling around 50 yards from a tent he can't find, slowly freezing to death.
My first idea was to start crawling in ever-widening concentric circles, which would work great if I could only ensure that the circles were ever widening. But if my circles turned out to be ovals, curly-q's or squiggly lines, I'd be dead in a couple of hours. The better plan was straight lines and right turns. If I lay with one arm straight in front of me and one pointing to the side, I could approximate 90 degrees. And if I counted the advances of my hands and knees, I might be able to keep track of where I was and where I'd been.
I had a plan. Now I just needed a direction.
My only clue was that I thought I had been blown slightly downhill. I couldn't be sure, but it was all I had. So which way was uphill? Total blackness would almost have been better than the roiling white chaos that surrounded me.
All I could do was pick a direction and start crawling. Ten crawls, left turn, 10 crawls, stop. A repeat would take me back, roughly, to where I started. That was the one place where I knew the tent wasn't, so I turned right. Ten crawls, right again, 10 crawls, stop. I'm an electrician of sorts, and realized that I was crawling in a square wave, also called a modified sine wave. I decided I'd keep at it, track how many peaks and troughs I made, and make a methodical, crawling search of the plateau. There were several tent-sites, mostly unoccupied, and I was likely to run into one sooner or later. If it was empty, I could at least get inside and have a break from the wind.
The day before, I had looked at the little thermometer clipped to my pack. It had read minus 20 degrees F, and that was in the vestibule of our tent. I wondered what it was out here, in the wind. As time ticked by, I used the details of the task at hand – crawling and counting – to keep my thoughts from straying toward panic and to fight off the creeping despair.
My plan worked, eventually. After what seemed an eternity, with the wind steadily pounding the cold into me and sucking the hope out, I crawled headfirst into our walls, and burrowed back inside. Scott was so far into his bag that I don't think he saw or heard me until I bumped into him.
"Everything cool?" was his muffled question.
I didn't tell him what happened, trying to pretend it never did. Maybe I didn't want to scare him, but I think I was more afraid of scaring myself. That's how fast it can happen in the mountains, even on the "easy" West Buttress of Denali. It is all weather.
In another hour or two, it was Scott's turn for wall duty. Scott was younger and stronger than I; a 21-year-old graduate of the Naval Academy, he swam 1,000 yards every morning.
I said something to him that young, invincible guys rarely say to each other: "Be careful."
A climber for 19 years, Chris Ferro lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and climbs mostly on the East Coast.


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North Jersey tourism leaders are rolling out a new online package builder, hoping to attract new visitors while encouraging coordination among the region's attractions and businesses that support the industry.The new feature by the Meadowlands Liberty Convention and Visitors Bureau launched Thursday with preset packages, but it will also allow users to create discounted plans a la carte from attractions, hotels, restaurants and other entities. MLCVB chief executive Jim Kirkos said the key now will be to recruit member businesses to participate in the system.
"This is the beginning of growing up to be a major destination," Kirkos said. He added that the bureau was looking for a unique solution to help narrow the gap between the Meadowlands and more recognizable markets, like New York.
The feature has started with three preset options, including a Dec. 8 NCAA basketball doubleheader at the Izod Center coupled with four choices for area hotels.
"We went to some of our more active members and said, 'Let's put some packages together, and let's build some confidence in the program,' " Kirkos said. "It always takes time, and we're out there competing with lots of other big entities."
The MLCVB also expects to incorporate upcoming big-ticket events like WrestleMania, along with planned American Dream Meadowlands complex, into the package builder.
Tourism leaders elsewhere in New Jersey are also trying a menu-style approach to help improve visitation. Late this summer, the nonprofit Atlantic City Alliance launched an online getaway planner at www.doatlanticcity.com, allowing users to build a trip step by step in segments like hotels, leisure, dining and travel.
"What we find is people need a little bit of help, because it's such a big destination with so much going on," said Jeff Guaracino, spokesman for the Atlantic City Alliance. He called it "a more interactive way than what we're used to doing, with brochures," adding that the options will continue to evolve as technology evolves.
The organization was not immediately able to provide usage data for the getaway planner, but Guaracino said the feature has seen positive results so far.


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I mentioned a few posts ago that I was rearranging the garden layout again. For those that were following along in the spring, you know that this year was the first year finally decided to make our garden beds "permanent" and we put mulch in between them. That of course meant that I would inevitably change my mind this fall. But it is a change for good reason.
The permanent design was three 4 foot by 20 foot long beds that ran east to west along side the south side of the house. The layout was good, something we had been doing for the last few years, and it seemed to be working fairly well. But there was a big flaw in this design. For a few years now, I've known something in the design was amiss, but it wasn't until this year that I was able to pinpoint what was wrong. This year was the year of the lousy tomato bed.
I was so disappointed. I hand-picked 13 varieties of heirloom tomatoes for the northern most 4′ x 20′ bed. But we only got a small handful of fruit. Our worst tomato harvest ever. And besides the low production, the plants started dying off prematurely at the west end of the bed. Over the summer, the dying-off moved east. What I suspected would one day happen finally did… we left our plants in the same area for too many years in a row.
Yep that's right. Despite all we knew, we didn't rotate our tomato plantings. Because of the layout, and because the toms are always the tallest plants in the garden, we've been planting the tomatoes in the same place for years now, the northern most of the three beds. We amend the soil every fall and spring, especially in that area since we weren't rotating, but it caught up with us any way. We have been rotating the other crops in the other beds, but the toms have just stayed. There was only one year when we planted them somewhere else, and they shaded out the stuff behind them. As our neighbors joked with us, "Carrots love tomatoes. But carrots love sunlight too."
I've puzzled over this for a few seasons now, but could never figure out just what to do with the tomatoes. Then, all at once this fall, it dawned on me that we've laid the beds out all wrong. If I simply switched them to four 4 foot by 15 foot beds that ran north to south, I would still get the same square footage, but I'd be far better enabled to rotate my crops. All the tomatoes could still go into one bed together, but could be rotated without shading out any other crops. Head-palm! How did it take me so long to realize this? I don't know, but I am excited.
Also this way, I can easily designate one of the four beds to be the spring/fall bed so that I won't plant my summer crops late again like I did this year. And, since I'm taking the time to build new "permanent" beds again, I'm going to edge them this time. One reason is so that I can kind of keep the mulch from the paths out. But also, and this is the bigger reason really, is so that I can better keep little feet out of the beds. I think the edges will be beneficial for H and especially E to know where they can and can't walk. Also, anyone visiting (like with the chicken coop tour) will hopefully know it's a garden and won't tread on my baby bok choy.
My edging is not fancy. I used what was on hand. One bed is edged with random rocks from the yard and flower beds. One is edged in brick that was removed to make the neighbor's veggie garden. Another is edged in left-over timbers that he donated to our cause. And the fourth is edged in… well, a mish-mash of materials. One day, I might make them prettier, but for now, I think they will do the job. Plus I was in a hurry to get the beds made before our first snow fall, which came in yesterday!
By the way – if you want to make a garden plan like I've shown in the above pictures, I totally ripped off Erica's method. Lazy garden planners unite!


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Lenawee County surplus not enough
Last year's budget surplus is larger than expected, but not enough to brighten a gloomy outlook for Lenawee County government's financial future.
That is the assessment of Lenawee County administrator Bill Bacon after reviewing an audit report for 2006 showing a fourth annual surplus in a row. Accounting maneuvers by the state government have counties on a track toward the type of financial crises the Legislature and governor are wrestling with in Lansing, he said.
"The state seems to be bound and intent on making every unit of government as poverty stricken as they are," Bacon said. "I'm hoping this audit isn't the last good one we have."
Another $710,654 was added to Lenawee County's general fund reserves last year, raising the total to nearly $8.5 million. The surplus was more than $200,000 larger than projected, mostly due to technical accounting issues involving what year to credit some grant funds and year-end payroll expenses, Bacon said.
County commission chairman Jim Van Doren, R-Tipton, thanked county employees for helping keep the budget in the black. The audit report by Jackson-based Rehmann Robson of Jackson noted that county spending increased less than 2 percent last year. Property taxes and interest earnings increased enough to cover costs and put money in the treasury at the end of the year.
"We're very fortunate to have employees who keep us in this condition," Van Doren said.
General fund reserves plus cash in several other major accounts add up to nearly $26 million the county has put away for the future.
The question is whether it will last long enough to see Michigan's economy and state government finances recover, Bacon said.
A large portion of the combined reserves is a $9.8 million replacement fund for state revenue sharing. Lansing stopped paying counties their share of state sales taxes in 2003 and mandated a shift in county property tax collections that created the replacement fund by collecting an extra one-third share of county millages for three years.
The tax shift was completed this year and the revenue-sharing replacement fund will now see money go in only one direction until it runs dry.
Artificial reserves were built up in the last few years by the accounting scheme, Bacon said.
"Now we're at the peak and heading down the other side of the mountain," he said.
A $1.8 million transfer to the general fund this year helped pay bills while the county waits for a July 1 tax billing to bring in the bulk of operating money for this year's $26.8 million budget. Almost $6 million will be borrowed from general fund reserves to meet cash flow needs until August, he said.
"If we didn't have a reserve I don't know where we'd be," Bacon said. Some counties with fewer resources have had to borrow money to cover expenses until tax collection time.
Tax revenue this year is not expected to replenish all the money taken for the reserve account, he said.
"Our guess is we're going to run $1 million in the hole," Bacon said.
As money drains out of the revenue-sharing replacement fund and general fund reserves decline, there will be less interest earned from money still in the bank. Last year's surplus was fed in part by $992,000 in interest income.
Officials in Lansing are also looking at ways to use reserves held by county and local governments to help patch up state government deficits. The state has a projected shortfall of $1.6 billion in the budget year that begins Oct. 1.
Bacon noted there is talk in Lansing of requiring counties to use their revenue-sharing replacement funds to make up for recent cuts in liquor tax payments to substance abuse programs. Lenawee County lost about $270,000 in liquor tax income.
"It looks like they may be coming up with other ways to take county reserves," he said. "It's not a good situation."
When the revenue-sharing replacement fund is gone, he said, there is only a promise by the state government to rely on. Lansing has pledged to resume revenue sharing with counties as their replacement funds dry up, Bacon said, but he has no confidence it will happen.
"That's D-Day. If the state doesn't come through with that I don't know what's going to happen," he said. "With the state of Michigan's economy, asking for a tax increase is a hard sell, to say the least."


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Rock On!! – Movie review
This is one of the most pleasant movies I have seen this year. Even though Rock On!! (directed by Abhishek Kapoor) is almost three hours long, I didn't get bored at all. But I guess it helps if one is a rock music fan like I am. Music is what this movie is about.
The story (no spoilers)
The story is about the music band, Magic. And it's about four guys who create some inspiring music and have dreams of making it big. But that is the past. The story takes place when these guys are in their thirties and the movie traces their relationship (and life) over the previous decade. We see them change as their life changes…from a free-spirited student existence to a life where earning a living and supporting their families becomes all-important…
Aditya (played by Farhan Akhtar) is the worldly wise one, willing to make compromises to become successful, even when it comes to his music. Joe (played by Arjun Rampal) is the idealistic one, unable to come to terms with the idea of changing his music to suit anyone else. Rob (Luke Kenny) is obsessed with their band Magic and KD (Purab Kohli) is the least serious of them all, and manages to ease tensions between the four.
This movie is essentially about two things…about relationships and about music. It shows us the strong bond that music creates between the four. Music is what brings them together and it is what almost breaks them apart.
There are two significant women characters – Sakshi, Aditya's wife (Prachi Desai) and Debbie, Arjun's wife (Shahana Goswami). Both are shown to be strong characters. It is interesting to see how one woman manages to play the catalyst in the relationship between the four friends even though she is a new entrant into their lives. And the other almost tears them apart even though she is the one who has been with the band ever since they began.
Characters and actors
I thought Farhan Akhtar as Aditya was great in the movie, and this is the first time I have seen the lead actor belt out his own numbers. I could see the veins in his neck literally stand out, it is so obvious that he is the singer! I think it makes a big difference to the songs. In a music movie like this one, it can be critical. I loved his voice, and his acting. Arjun Rampal as Joe looks perfect for his role and acted well too. However I felt that all these guys look too old in the flashback scenes where they were supposed to be in their early twenties.
Shahana's performance is wonderful.
About the music (by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy)
It was a little odd to hear Hindi lyrics set to rock music, even though there is such a thing as Hindi rock today. Indi-rock however is not mainstream. The way the movie was shown I thought that they weren't really talking about Hindi rock, but English rock. All the four friends are shown to be very westernized, in their dress, their attitude and their look. The Hindi lyrics are interspersed with a lot of English and I guess it was necessary to set the tunes to Hindi lyrics or the mass Indian audience will not be able to relate to it. In fact I wonder if they will be able to relate to rock music at all, something people of my generation grew up listening. There was no Indi-pop or Indi-rock during our time (it came with the advent of MTV) – just film music. For us bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC were the gods of rock.
I do hope this movie is an inspiration to Indi-rock bands and I hope it brings about some popularisation of this genre of music in India.
In conclusion
I loved this movie and perhaps it is because I could identify with it instantly. For two reasons. The story is about going back into the past and reminiscing with old friends, it's about bringing the magic back into one's life, and it's also about rock music. The movie tells us all something, that life is not worth living if it's just about making money. Life has to be about passion.
(Photo taken by me of a hoarding near Juhu)
Mumbai Meri Jaan Review
Bachna Ae Haseeno Review
More Movie Reviews
August 31, 2008 12:10 pm
Thanks Nita, I am going to see it tonight. 🙂
have fun! – nita.
August 31, 2008 1:51 pm
Nita darling, hold on for a couple of more months (or so we hope) before we release our album. You might want to do a review yourself. 😉
I loved your review and I'm going to see it tomorrow with a couple of friends of mine.
(All of my bandmates loved the movie!)
exciting! you are a musician…I have been wanting to check out your blog Kris, but though I had a brief look at it, I've been lazy. This week definitely you will see me there. – nita.
Nitin permalinkSeptember 1, 2008 12:51 am
well seen thats movie today n must say one of da best hindi movie that i eva seen, must be awarded. All da crew of rock on worked so superb. farhan voice is damn good, we not need to go for any idol when he sings so good 🙂 cheers
sandy permalinkSeptember 1, 2008 11:57 am
true meaning of friendship.
Is ROCK ON!! DIL CHAHTA HAI 2, one is tempted to ask. DIL CHAHTA HAI was a trendsetter when you look back, paving way for storytellers who wanted a new story to tell. Now, the DIL CHAHTA HAI team of Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar with director Abhishek Kapoor deliver ROCK ON!!, a film that makes you understand the true meaning of friendship
In a nutshell, here's a film you just can't afford to miss. We've had our share of masala films week after week. Now have a look at a film that India can proudly showcase to the West. ROCK ON!! simply rocks!
I agree, this is one film we can be proud of. We in India may not be technically as good as hollywood but I think when it comes to movie-making we can make the best. We have a lot of talent in our country and this movie proves it. – nita.
September 1, 2008 12:54 pm
whoa…!!! nita
rock fan?
"For us bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC were the gods of rock."
coolest line in that post….
on a personal note…i think would be even cooler if it included "The Who".
what market was this movie catering to…. english rock with hindi lyrics. a genre not known to much people.
personally think "Almost Famous"[link:imdb.com] is one of the best Rock movies ever made. but it kind of captures the later period of rock, "the death rattle" as one character says in the movie.
know any movie which captures the 60's hippie/counter-culture movement ? the so-called glorious period of rock.
I missed "The Who." you are right, they were "it." I have no idea who this movie is trying to target, but I think our audience could still like it, because the movie has a sweet message and there is a sweet story to it as well although not much suspense. I don't know any movie which captures rock music, perhaps some english movie does, but don't know. – nita.
September 1, 2008 5:10 pm
Oh No!Reading the review makes me want to go and see the movie,but I am just worried, it might not measure up!
"For us bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC were the gods of rock."
They still are I suppose.I truly think music died in the 70s.
Also you can add to the list Pink Floyd,The Doors,Jethro Tull,Jimi Hendrix,Janis Joplin,Bob Dylan,The Rolling Stones ,The Who[As someone mentioned above]and of course The Beatles!Oh almost forgot Queen!
For me the greatest rock movie [tribute to rock music]was "School of Rock"starring Jack Black.Love the soundtrack and love all the kids in it.
I haven't seen "school of rock" – thanks for that tip! And don't expect too much from this movie, because one tends to compare it to most of the other movies going around currently and well, it's far better than those. But it's not a classic. it's entertainment.
And sad about rock music isn't it! nowadays people prefer rap and hip-hop!! sacrilige, although I enjoy those genres too. – nita.
September 1, 2008 5:51 pm
Its the economy that influences art[music] to a great extent I suppose.
I belong to the old school of thought[though I am not old at all!lol],that a true artist must experience pain and suffering to create works of exquisite beauty.Try explaining that to the current generation, who have an attention span of a nanosecond and in need of constant stimulation.No wonder hip-hop is popular,as any lyrics beyond "I am too sexy for my shirt" are impossible to comprehend for them.Gosh, I hope I don't sound too cynical.
Do try and see "School of Rock"though.It is quite a heart warming film and if you love rock n roll,you are sure to love it.Jack Black,in a role of life-time, brings this crazy mad-dog ferocity to the movie that is fun to watch.I would have loved to be in his class!
thanks Nitin…I guess each generation has their own pain. A different kind of pain. I think this constant stimulation requirement is a symptom of it. – nita.
September 1, 2008 7:01 pm
Saw this movie yesterday. Enjoyed it. Loved the music….
One thing I noticed was they dressed the same way even ten years ago i.e. in 1997-98.
Love the new pic on the header 🙂
thanks. 🙂 – nita.
September 2, 2008 12:27 am
@ Nitin
bro !!!
"School of Rock" is one of my favorite movies too… Infact i got my hands on that dvd in my 3rd year in college just when my roommate bought a pc.
And these guys where discussing what movie to play to officially inaugurate the coming of the pc to our room, i was like screaming "School of Rock" and even managed to convert a guy to "The Church of Rock and Roll" after making him watch the movie. :p
ha ha !!!
memories….am pumped[adding "the immigrant song" to the playlist] 🙂
here's plant screaming aaaaahhaaaa ah!!!
September 2, 2008 4:21 am
Ha ha.Ya mate.
"We come from the land of the ice and snow,
from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow". "Valhalla,I am coming"
U2 and The Police were formed in the mid to late 70s and are in no way a recent phenomenon.There have been a few good bands after that e.g.Nirvana and Pearl Jam are a couple that come to mind and Coldplay is definitely up there.But in the 60s and 70s music was a movement and a form of rebellion for social change.And the greatest lyrics and music were created in that era.One only needs to listen to a Janis Joplin number and tell that the pain is real and not manufactured.
@Nita Thanks for responding to my earlier comment and apologies for taking the discussion away from the movie.But rock is something I feel strongly about and could not help myself!:)
I enjoyed the little dialogue Nitin. And glad you explained the points to Rdoc. I agree, the greatest lyrics and music were created in that era. – nita.
September 2, 2008 12:12 pm
@Rdoc: Music didn't die in the 70's, it died on August 1st, 1981.
Secondly, what yardstick do you judge good music by when you say, "History could even judge them better." I always thought things like music, food etc were always subjective.
@eh: As good as Almost Famous was, I would have to throw This is Spinal Tap into the ring; and original music that will "blow the school of rock out your butt". That isn't to say school of rock was bad, just to clarify.
I agree with Nitin that rock and heavy metal has lost some of its meaning in recent times with almost a prophetic re-enactment of This is Spinal Tap. Having said that, I am not sure Rock and Heavy Metal were ever a "rebellion for social change". That is not to deny some of the rock music that did intend to do that, but then again, every genre has their social change messages, including Rap and Hip-Hop.
Talking about the decline of Rock, and music in general reminds me of a great movie, Before The Music Dies.
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September 2, 2008 7:40 pm
Nice review Nita.
Maybe I'm too critical about the movie (in my blog)?
September 2, 2008 10:45 pm
This movie is essentially about two things…about relationships and about music.
Agreed! Let's extend the 'music' to about any passion (as you do in that last paragraph). *That* is the biggest message I got from the film, that it's never too late.
I'm starting to feel more confident in Farhan Akhtar and Imran Khan (and perhaps Ranbir Kapoor) leading the way for the next generation of actors. Rock On is fantastic, and we could use plenty more sensible and fun-filled cinema like this! Thanks for sharing that billboard picture..I miss Bombay 😥
September 2, 2008 10:55 pm
Its been about a week since I gave Rock On full marks in my review and I've been asking people about their opinions since then. Amazingly, most people I talked to have compared it with DCH. Trust me, it is very different from Farhan's directorial debut.
September 3, 2008 3:45 am
Yes you are right.Rock probably did not begin as a means of social change but it got that form in the 60s and 70s.
You are correct about rap having a social context as well. NWA,Tupac,Arrested Development and Public Enemy etc.were essentially about that.But it got taken over by these fakers and wannabe gangsters .The effect of this genre has watered down since then.
Might check out your movie recommendation this weekend.Cheers.
raveesh permalinkSeptember 3, 2008 10:32 am
WELL DONE magic,
it's ia a really nice movie, in this tye of movie presentation is so important and Abhishek do his awesome job. In this movie all charater do his good job. and director focus on every one too.
Movie looks like a real story nothing is forced that is the good part of the movie.
in this movie we can find the intelligent cinema which is the specialty of this decade, a story comes from real life and the way of presentation is very good that's why people like it.
gumnaam permalinkSeptember 3, 2008 5:04 pm
bekaar hai bilkul 🙂
Felix permalinkSeptember 4, 2008 8:49 pm
Wow.. awesome… mindblowing… fantastic…. movie this was..!! I'm really happy that i watched a real good movie after a long time. Thanks folks for your reviews… it really made me watch the movie.
sachin permalinkSeptember 5, 2008 7:05 pm
good film to watch upto the end. i can only say good value for money.u wont be worrying about the time and money you spent…….
Tina permalinkSeptember 7, 2008 6:46 am
Rock On was dyamm good. Arjun can FINALLY act man. I used to think he was a log but he has potential. Farhan over acts I feel. The girl playing Arjun's wife needs to stop overarching her brows so much. I thought she was OTT with her acting man. Didn't like her at all. I like Luke. Man oh Man was he funny. Check out his take on "I will survive" FUNNY AS HELL. Prachi as Sakshi was SUPERB. Fitted the role perfectly!
Suraj Singh permalinkSeptember 7, 2008 3:43 pm
It is a copy of Still Crazy.
In the seventies Strange Fruit were it. They lived the rock lifestyle to the max, groupies, drugs, internal tension and an ex front man dead from an overdose. Even their demise was glamorous; when lightning struck the stage during an outdoor festival. 20 years on and these former rock gods they have now sunk deep into obscurity when the idea of a reunion tour is lodged in the head of Tony, former keyboard player of the Fruits. Tony sets out to find his former bandmates with the help of former manager Karen to see if they can recapture the magic and give themselves a second chance
September 8, 2008 9:39 pm
Farhan Akhtar stands out. He's really different. On the lines of Aamir Khan, Ashutosh Gowariker and a select few keeping respect alive in the Indian film industry.
September 8, 2008 10:35 pm
Good review. I have seen a similar movie like this in malayalam in 2001. Can't remember the name.
vinay sahu permalinkSeptember 11, 2008 10:51 am
I watched it last night….movie was a big disappointment for me. it was not at all like 4 star. I think money was given to media for reporting it well. None of the charater was fitting the role. Sceans very not edited well. Every where loophole in story. Not at all inspiring. Now on i will not beleave times of India rating.
September 13, 2008 6:38 pm
Saw this one last night and all I can say is ,it is everything I had expected it to be.
It was incredibly painful for me to watch the "Bollywoodisation"of rock.
But I agree your conclusion above, that //"I loved this movie and perhaps it is
because I could identify with it instantly. For two reasons. The story is about going back
into the past and reminiscing with old friends,
it's about bringing the magic back into one's life, and it's also about rock music."//
I could partly identify with some of the characters as I have been part of a band in my college days and I can identify with the passion that makes people opt for poetry,instead of investment banking.
Main problems I had with the movie:
Where are the original rock songs?They have made a movie about rock music, without any rock songs whatsoever.
The songs are so lame and Farhan Akhtar sounds like a frog.Lyrical content = zero.I do not know why we cannot write original poetry[or rock songs],perhaps because we have lost our language.Hindi has become as foreign as English.
They could have got some original Indi rockers e.g. Parikrama for the soundtrack.
Some parts of the movie appear to be lifted e.g. the part about the argument with the producer during the
recording session, appears to be lifted from Oliver Stone's "The Doors".In this scene Jim Morrisson loses it,
after watching "Light my fire"set to an ad jingle.
Nitin, yes you are right, there is no real rock in this movie, the music is a compromise. But then I guess if there was the kind of music that you and me enjoy, not many others would have enjoyed it. I am crazy about The Doors.- Nita.
Dienver permalinkSeptember 20, 2008 7:25 am
"For us bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC were the gods of rock."
Strong words there! I personally am a Metalhead, more than a rock fanatic, but i cant deny my love for rock. And its always a pleasant surprise to find a genuine rock fan these days. What with the invasion of rap, hip hop and "bollywood" out here, i hardly ever meet people who can in anyway relate to rock. I've just been avoiding watching the movie, knowing fully well that I'll be disappointed with, as the above comment mentioned, the "bollywoodisation" of rock. It feels almost like blasphemy. But then again, i guess I'm being too picky as always, .. So will I watch this movie, now that I've read your beautiful review? Frankly, never. But I do hope the the rock lovers in here do something to get the deserving crowds back some music which has a soul 🙂 ..
Awesome review, but I guess I'd rather skip the movie to avoid being disappointed n disgusted at the commercialization of the rock by people and for people who think its all about wearing a "rock star's" clothes and having an attitude problem. It felt great to have met so many Rock fans here though. I doubt I'll ever be back to this blog, not being a fan of Indian movies, but its been a pleasure reading these posts n that warm review 🙂


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Golden Globes: The Best Tweets About the Show
The 71st annual Golden Globes were a little all over the place. But with that much vodka flowing, who's really surprised?
Relive all the glorious weirdness - from Jacqueline Bisset's acceptance speech to Diane Keaton's Woody Allen serenade - through the best tweets of the night.
See all the Golden Globes red carpet arrivals
Check out our roundup below:
Rooting for nominees tonight in my usual order: 1. Jew. 2. Friend I don't hate. 3. Never nominated before. 4. Ugly. 5. Merit. #GoldenGlobes- Joshua Malina (@JoshMalina) January 12, 2014
IS THERE SOMETHING IN MY TEETH HOLLYWOOD pic.twitter.com/xJCwiiN7AE- Aubrey Plaza (@evilhag) January 12, 2014
.@RyanSeacrest Don't push Bono, 'cause he's close to The Edge. #GoldenGlobes- Joshua Malina (@JoshMalina) January 13, 2014
I'm basically the phantom of the opera but of awards shows. Rather than make people sing I bust sewer pipes.- josh groban (@joshgroban) January 13, 2014
RT @mouseparty: @MarthaPlimpton gorgeous!!! Are u there? / Nope! I don't go to awards shows I'm not invited to. I stay home in my jimjams!- Martha Plimpton (@MarthaPlimpton) January 13, 2014
It feels so weird to be watching an awards show where Taylor Swift is only nominated in one category- Sam Lansky (@samlansky) January 13, 2014
Check out all the Golden Globes red carpet hits and misses
Tina Fey gets the Golden Globes; Jenna Maroney's in an orange juice commercial. Sounds about right.- Josh Kurp (@JoshKurp) January 13, 2014
Jacqueline Bisset had to walk to the stage from another building so it took 3 hours and now the Golden Globes are over.- Gawker (@Gawker) January 13, 2014
EVERYONE IS SHAKING WINNING AN AWARD FOR ACTING IS HORRIFYING AND REQUIRES GREAT COURAGE!!!- billy eichner (@billyeichner) January 13, 2014
I helped write Jacqueline Bisset's speech. Did you like it?- Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 13, 2014
a little too strange even for me- mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) January 13, 2014
Who's Randy's father? I say Zac Efron. #EWGlobes pic.twitter.com/cgu74EBJn2- Annie Barrett (@EWAnnieBarrett) January 13, 2014
We've gone from Jordan Catalano to the guy who directed the "Undone – The Sweater Song" video. The EMOTIONS of 1994 are alive and well.- Josh Kurp (@JoshKurp) January 13, 2014
That little song Diane Keaton sang is the last thing you hear before you die- samir mezrahi (@samir) January 13, 2014
Missed the Woody Allen tribute - did they put the part where a woman publicly confirmed he molested her at age 7 before or after Annie Hall?- Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) January 13, 2014
My underwear hurts..... Need more booze. Send help! #GoldenGIobes- Gabourey Sidibe (@GabbySidibe) January 13, 2014
Matthew McConaughey is in the audience like http://t.co/N7hRZ6cFEW- Gregory E. Miller (@Greggenheim) January 13, 2014
By saying "Philomania," Leo just won a $5,000 bet with Tobey Maguire. #GoldenGlobes- Sarah C. (@sarchrz) January 13, 2014
View original Golden Globes: The Best Tweets About the Show at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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A nurse who fell victim to a prank telephone call seeking information about the Duchess of Cambridge has died, King Edward VII hospital said Friday.
The hospital said Jacintha Saldanha took the hoax call by two Australian radio disc jockeys who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to elicit information on the duchess. Saldanha later transferred the call to the nurse caring for the Duchess, who is pregnant and was suffering from acute morning sickness.
Saldanha was found dead early Friday. Police say her death is unexplained.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies at this time are with her family and friends," said John Lofthouse, the hospital's chief executive said in a statement. "Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague."
St. James's Palace also expressed sadness at the death.
"Their royal highnesses were looked after so wonderfully well at all times by everybody at King Edward VII Hospital, and their thoughts and prayers are with Jacintha Saldanha's family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time," the palace said in a statement.
The prank phone call took place early Tuesday and the two radio personalities apologized the following day.
A woman using the often-mimicked voice of Britain's monarch asked after the duchess' health. She was told by the second nurse who took the call from Saldanha that the duchess, the former Kate Middleton, "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."
The nurse went on to tell the personalities that the duchess had had an uneventful night, as a dog yapped in the background. The alleged queen and prince talk about traveling to the hospital to check in on the patient.
The hospital said it supported Saldanha in the aftermath of the call and that its phone protocols were under review.
The Australian station 2DayFM placed the recording of the conversation on its website but later said it was sorry. Australian radio personalities Mel Greig and Michael Christian also apologized for the hoax.
"We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents," they said in a joint statement with the station at the time. "We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well."
Officials from St. James's Palace have said the duchess is not yet 12 weeks pregnant. The child would be the first for her and Prince William.


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Welcome to Bespoke Graphics.
Where we pride ourselves on High Quality and Excellent Customer Service, offering computer cut and full colour Graphics photograph quality vinyl wall art stickers.These will stick to any surface including glass. Our images are not only original but iconic, exciting, nostalgic and are always conversation pieces.
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Colour Vinyl Wall Art Stickers
We use a £12,000 Roland 54inch full colour printer, we only use original eco solvent ink designed for the printer, we do not use cheap imported compatible ink. We use Metamark M3 digital vinyl which has profiles for use within our printer ensuring the highest quality printing. We do not print Jpeg images from 'google images'. We use Pdf Ai or Eps files which are scalable meaning they are the same quality printed as small as a phone or 2m wide.
Cut Vinyl Wall Art Stickers
We use Roland Cutters Precision cut Ritamari vinyl hand picked then finished with Conform Low Tack Application tape making these easy to transfer to your wall.
Created and despatched within 24hrs by ourselves on our premises in the UK. We do our own quality control, your shopping experience with us will be 100% satisfactory.
Use the drop down menu above to choose your size and colour.
Some of our listings also offer Mirrored. Choose reversed/Mirrored if you want your wall art facing the opposite way as in the picture above.
The size depends on the individual graphic. The sizes are shows on the drop down menu. The price will rise as the size rises.
We can create this any size you like, simply contact Nick from our Custom Design Department and he will create it especially for you.
We've got hundreds of designs, come check them out in our store!
Additional Information
We are dedicated to ensuring the highest possible quality service to our customers, always going above any beyond!
About Us
Bespoke Graphics is a family run business based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, where we pride ourselves on quality and excellent customer service. As a small business the promotion of our products and services are relied upon 'word of mouth'. We want you to be assured your shopping experience with us will be 100% satisfactory.
Our images are not only original but iconic, exciting, nostalgic and are always conversation pieces.They will last and look great in your home or office for many years to come. They are made to order and created on our own premises, we do our own quality control.
With 100% eBay positive customer feedback we get the feeling we are doing something right. You can read all our feedback here.
You can also read about my daughter Millie and why we strongly support the charity Ataxia UK.
If at any time you have any questions or suggestions I would to love to hear from you.


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Gary Brown: The calm that comes with forgetfulness
When I sat down at the computer keyboard, it took me a few seconds to try to remember what I was planning to write about with these words. A hand needed to be raised to my chin and I found my brow had to be furrowed in order for me to bring to mind the topic.
My delay in remembering made unsurprising sense to me, in a confirming sort of way. The column, you see, concerned forgetting things.
I fear sometimes that I'm becoming my mother.
The chance that I could be following in her mental footsteps is understandably disconcerting. By the time we lost her a few years ago, dementia had turned my mother's initial momentary lapses in memory into a completely forgotten life.
Science would say that the worry is groundless. According to a professor, Nick Fox, on the website for the Alzheimer's Society, "the majority of dementia is not inherited" and "most cases of Alzheimer's disease are not inherited" either.
But, "having Alzeimer's disease in the family does very slightly increase the chance of people in later generations getting the disease," said Fox, adding that rare cases of inherited dementia do not skip a generation.
So, although the chance is small, I still could be my mom. Which is why in conversations with friends or family members I sometimes feel uneasy enough passing on information to add the query "did I already tell you about this?"
The question. That's how it started with Mom. Then came the period of the apology. "Forgive me if I mentioned this before ..." Eventually, she forgot to ask the question or show contrition, and just got on with a steady stream of consciousness that repeated itself.
I dread a day I no longer will worry about forgetfulness.
There are days when, short of feeling anxious about it, a healthy concern over getting dementia seems almost advantageous in finding motivation to do all those inconvenient but healthful things that some say could prevent the disease.
I eat more salads, figuring that mixing them in with burgers and fries might average out to a more healthy diet. I walk up stairs instead of taking elevators and mow my own lawn for the exercise. I seldom salt food to try to keep my blood pressure in check. I stopped smoking decades ago, and I can remember doing it, so at least I've got that memory going for me.
I keep my mind active, as well, with crossword puzzles and trivia quizzes. My hobbies are sailing, snow skiing and Sudoku.
Still, I forget movie titles and the names of film stars. I lose track of the birthdays of friends. And, if asked in the morning, I occasionally even have trouble immediately calling to mind what I ate for dinner the night before.
Oh, it all comes back to me in short time. And, I am not alone in my feeble attempts to remember things that would have been on the tip of my tongue not too many years ago. The same thing seems to happen to those I call, with more meaning now, old friends. There is reassurance being forgetful in their company.
We joke that our minds are just too filled with years-old sports scores and favorite movie lines. Our mental closets need to be purged, so we have room to store new memories in spaces previously taken up by unneeded recollections from our past.
Spring is coming. I wouldn't mind a little memory cleaning. I just don't want to move entirely out of my mental house.
Reach Gary at email@example.com or 330-580-8303.
On Twitter: @gbrownREP


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Frank Ocean, Maroon 5, Keys to perform at Grammys
Staff Writer
Columbus Monthly
NEW YORK (AP) — All five nominees for album of the year at this year's Grammys will perform at the awards show next month.
The Recording Academy announced Thursday that R&B singer Frank Ocean will join Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys, Jack White and fun. at the Grammys, to take place live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 10.
Alicia Keys and Maroon 5 will join forces for a special performance. Presenters include Katy Perry, Keith Urban, Carly Rae Jepsen, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
Six acts tie for the most nominations with six each, including Ocean, The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Kanye West, Jay-Z, fun. and Mumford & Sons.


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Sheriff: Aaron Hernandez being investigated in Tuesday altercation with inmate
DARTMOUTH — Aaron Hernandez got into a physical altercation Tuesday with another inmate at the Bristol County House of Correction, Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson confirmed.
"At this point, it's under investigation. I wouldn't want to comment beyond that," Hodgson said Tuesday evening.
TMZ, citing anonymous sources, first reported the alleged altercation Tuesday. The celebrity news website said Hernandez attacked a male inmate in a jail hallway with whom he had been "beefing with" earlier that day.
Hodgson said neither Hernandez nor the other inmate suffered any serious injuries in the altercation.
Hodgson said the jail's investigative staff will interview witnesses and review surveillance footage to determine whether Hernandez, 24, will face additional criminal assault charges.
If he is charged with any new offenses, Hernandez would most likely be arraigned in New Bedford District Court.
Hernandez, 24, the former Patriots star tight end, is already charged with murder and firearms offenses stemming from the June 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd in the North Attleborough Industrial Park. His case is pending in Fall River Superior Court.
Hernandez has been held without bail at the county jail in Dartmouth since his arrest last summer. He has been assigned to a segregated unit where only one inmate is allowed to be outside of his cell at any given time.
Hodgson said the jail's internal investigation will also look into whether any of the correctional staff "fell short of our standards."


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Blue Plate Special: 'Hey Cookie, make mine a heart attack in a fog'
You might need to go back to your great-grandfather to hear stories about the plate of food that saved the nation.
The Blue Plate Special is nearly long gone, as are the street-corner diners that slopped them by the millions. During the Great Depression, simple Blue Plates were the cheapest hot meals, costing a nickel to a dime. They fed the cash-starved nation, sold all day and into the late night. If you had the coin, you could eat heartily, as Blue Plates were healthy by today's standards.
Food historian Kevin Reed traces the name to a dish manufacturer who turned out cheap dinner plates with three segments, similar to a frozen-dinner tray. All were blue, as that was cheapest color. The three segments held the three elements of all Blue Plates: Meat, vegetables and potatoes.
The plates made their way into nearly all of the nation's 10,000 diners. Reed said the dish segments saved money on dish washing — no need for multiple plates.
"By 1937, one million people were eating at least one meal a day in diners," he said, and they ordered the most food for the money, Blue Plates.
The name does not describe a specific recipe. Blue Plates changed daily, like today's specials. They always were made from cheap foods, such as ground beef, potatoes, gravies and canned goods. Mixed vegetables (corn, carrots and peas) were a must. The recipes were designed for mass production, made ahead and taking only minutes to reheat, or they parked in cauldrons on the stove.
Food-culture observers Jane and Michael Stern traced the modern versions in their 2001 "Blue Plate Specials and Blue Ribbon Chefs." Their cross-country marathon stopping at every diner along the way revealed Blue Plates are alive in small, cozy eateries stuck in the 1930s.
"They still are the heart and soul of America," they concluded.
Randy Garbin of Roadside Magazine welcomes the tenuous reprise of Blue Plate Specials.
"We are nostalgic for this time because we realize that in our mad rush to the 21st century we have thrown away and paved over many of the good and simple things in life. For many, all that is left is some Disneyesque diner wannabe in a barren strip mall."
Just don't expect to find the specials at McDonald's, and the prices are more like $6.95 and up. Denny's and Bob Evans still take a stab at them.
You can recreate the classic Blues at home. The recipes were hoarded from the 1930s. They still are cheap, but you can hardly get the glass of water for a nickel. These below are the main courses. Be sure to add canned mixed vegetables in the alley (side dish) and perhaps a rack (biscuit) if you're in the mood.
1 pound ground meat, the heart attack, (beef, pork, turkey, chicken)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups brown gravy from mix
5 cups mashed potatoes, the fog, fresh or dehydrated
Brown meat and onions in oil. Drain. Mix brown gravy in the same pan. Add beef and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes with canned, mixed vegetables on the side.
Serves 4.
1 pound Fridays (fish fillets)
1 can cream of mushroom splash (soup), diluted with milk
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
3 teaspoons melted butter
Brush fillets with butter, coat with bread crumbs. Carefully fry in butter until slightly brown. Add mushroom soup and cook uncovered until heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve over rice.
3 cans tuner (tuna) in water
1/4 cup celery, diced
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise or to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Brown mustard to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper
Drain and flake tuna. Add remaining ingredients. Serve as sandwiches or on lettuce with sliced tomatoes and carrots. Serves 4.
Note: For a more filling salad, add 2 cups of cooked, chilled small-shell pasta.


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Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines moving on as solo artist
Natalie Maines is starting out nervous on stage, almost 10 years to the day that the Dixie Chicks spitfire slammed then-President George W. Bush and forever changed the fate and fortunes of the country superstars.
On this night she barely speaks between songs.
Her hair slicks up in a punkish pompadour. She looks slimmer than when the Dixie Chicks began a hiatus in 2007 that may never end. The crowd at the South by Southwest music festival to hear Maines perform her solo debut "Mother" for only the second time is a healthy size, but it is also far from a packed house.
"We missed you, Natalie!" one fan hollers.
Maines smiles but doesn't banter back.
"I ask myself, 'Why is that? What are you doing, girl?'" Maines told The Associated Press the next morning at a downtown Austin hotel. "I think right now I have so much to remember. This is the most guitar I've ever had to play."
Now 38 and a solo artist for the first time in her career, Maines is candid about the past and guarded about the future. Ask whether the Dixie Chicks will ever record new music again, she curls in her chair with tense energy and declines to predict.
"I think I thought time would heal and that I would come around. But just like the song says, I'm still waiting," said Maines, pulling a lyric from the band's defiant 2006 smash single "Not Ready to Make Nice."
Fellow Chicks Emily Erwin and Martie Maguire don't needle her to reunite in the studio, Maines said, but she acknowledges that choosing the solo project "Mother" as her first album since 2006 may not have been their first choice. "I'm pretty sure they would rather I be making a Dixie Chicks record, but they would never say that, thank God," Maines said.
Now rehash her takedown of then-President Bush in 2003 and — well, on second thought, don't bother.
Maines does that herself.
"Good thing I'm not a told ya so kind of person or I might point out that 10 years ago today I said GWB was full of bull and I was right," she tweeted on March 10, three days before her first South by Southwest performance.
When the Texas-born Maines told a London crowd at the start of the Iraq invasion she was ashamed to be from the same state as Bush, the Dixie Chicks became pariahs of the country music industry that vaulted them to stardom. Radio stations blackballed the Dixie Chicks from playlists and legions of fans turned their backs.
The Dixie Chicks stayed firm during the backlash, and released "Taking the Long Way" in 2006 that won five Grammys and was a best-seller despite being largely ignored by country radio. Maines now refers to the group as "tainted" but is still open to performing live with the Dixie Chicks, and two shows are scheduled in Canada this summer.
Those concerts will be a different sound than "Mother." The album is Maines putting her take on covers that span from Pink Floyd (the album title borrows from "The Wall"), Eddie Vedder's "Without You" and Jeff Buckley's "Lover, You Should've Come Over."
Guitar virtuoso Ben Harper produced the album and performed with Maines at SXSW for a lively show that skewed far more on the side of rock and Americana than the bluegrass and country combination of the Dixie Chicks. Maines first played at the 2,700-seat Moody Theater that is the home studio for Austin City Limits — a big and tough venue to fill at SXSW, given the 2,200 other artists all vying for attention.
Maines doesn't expect to win back fans that Dixie Chicks lost, and isn't sure who will embrace her different sound now.
"I like what the three of us had together," Maines said of the Dixie Chicks. "I did what was required. It felt like my job. I felt like a businesswoman in the industry I was in. I feel like I accepted that and waved that country flag but always felt like I was holding on to who I was, and we were still considered rebellious in the Top 40 country market. But it was news to me that people thought I was something I wasn't.
"The cat just feels out of the bag now," Maines said. "I'm not sure I can go back to that."
Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber